GUATEMALA CITY （Reuters） – A fish that lives in mangrove swamps(红树沼泽) across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted(适应) to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.

The Magrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil. When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs(圆木), said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida.

The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches. They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again.

The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize.

 “We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,” Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatgemala by telephone. He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.

In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.

Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph.

Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.

 “These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition(过渡) from water onto land,” Wright said.

1. The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that _______.

A. likes eating nuts

B. prefers living in dry places

C. is the longest living fish on earth

D. can stay alive for two months out of water

2. Who will write up a report on Mangrove Rivulus?

A. Patricia Wright.

B. Scott Taylor.

C. Scientists from Belize.

D. Researchers in Guatemala.

3. According to the text, lungfish can ________.

A. breathe through its skin

B. move freely on dry land

C. remain alive out of water

D. be as active on land as in water

4. What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?

A. It was made quite by accident.

B. It was helped by Patricia Wright.

C. It was based on a lab test of sea life.

D. It was supported by an American magazine.

第三部分： 阅读理解（共两节，满分 40 分）

（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

     阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A,B,C,D）中，选出最佳选项。

                            Mike McClure walked into Sarasota Bay for a little fishing on a beautiful day last April. This afternoon, the water was shallow enough at low tide  that McClure could easily walk 100 yards offshore and cast(投）his line in any direction.

     Near sunset, still without a fish, he decided to turn back. Rather than turn to his earlier course, he chose a more direct path toward shore, thinking the bay wouldn't get deeper along the way. Instead, he was trapped. He tried to walk in different directions, but shallower water eluded(避开）him. Finally, he decided his safest choice was to head straight for land.

     "Within  about five steps, the water was coming in through the top of the waders(高筒防水胶靴）," says McClure.

He felt the deadweight of the flooding waders pulling him down and knew that if he didn't get out of them, he would drown. But he failed to kick his way out of the waders. Instead, they pulled him completely below the surface.

Back onshore, Eliza Cameron, 19, Loren Niurka Mora, 20, and Caitlin Petro, 20, had been watching McClure fish as they rested on the grass after a long week of classes. They saw McClure go under and then heard him cry, "Help！”

The three friends kicked off their shoes and ran into the bay. They were all good swimmers, but all hid a fear that he might pull them down too because they'd have to dive to save him.

When they reached him, he'd managed to kick himself out the waders, but his eyes had partly rolled back. Cameron and Mora each hooked an arm under his shoulders, while Petro supported his back and held his hand. Then the three friends tried their best to tug him towards shore. Finally, they all returned to shore safely.

56.Mike McClure didn't turn back by his earlier course because _____.

   A. He wanted to choose a short course

   B. His earlier course was dangerous

   C. He just wanted to take a risk

   D. He knew where the water was deep

57.What directly trapped Mike McClure in the bay?

   A. His wrong decision         B. The coming high tide

   C. His waders' being flooded    D. The depth of water

58.During the rescue, ____.

   A. The three women were afraid of being trapped in the water

   B.Cameron and Petro helped catch  Mike McClure's arms

   C. The three women removed Mike McClure's waders

   D. Mike McClure still wore his flooding waders

阅读理解

　　Once there was a king who never ate a meal unless there was a dish of fish with it, but one day there was a big storm and the fishermen were not able to go out to catch fish, so the king had no breakfast and no lunch. Then he ordered his servants to tell everybody in his capital that if anyone brought him a fish, he would give him anything that he asked for.

　　At last, a fisherman caught a big fish late in the afternoon and hurried to the king's palace with it. But the king's Prime Minister would not let him in until he promised to give him half of whatever the king gave him for the fish.

　　The king was very happy when he saw the fish. He asked the fisherman what he wanted for his fish. To his surprise, the fisherman said, “I want you to beat me two dozen times with a stick. ”When the king began to heat him a dozen times, the fisherman jumped away and said, “That is enough for me. I promised the other dozen to your Prime Minister.” Then he told the king what has happened between the Prime Minister and himself. The king was very angry. He not only gave the Prime Minister the dozen hits, but also said, “Because you have been dishonest, you will not be my Prime Minister any more. The fisherman will take your place. ”

1．The king didn't have breakfast or lunch because ________.

[　　]

A．there was a big storm

B．the Prime Minister did not bring him any food

C．there was no fish

D．his servants didn't know how to cook well

2．The fisherman took his fish to the king's palace because ________.

[　　]

A．the king had promised to give him whatever he wanted

B．the king was dying from hunger

C．he wanted to teach the Prime Minister a lesson

D．he wanted to be the Prime Minister

3．When the fisherman told the king what he wanted, the king ________ .

[　　]

A．was very happy

B．was very surprised

C．was very angry

D．gave him what he wanted at once

4．which of the following sentences is true?

[　　]

A．The king wanted to make the fisherman Prime Minister.

B．The king had nothing to eat for one whole day.

C．The king ate a fish every day.

D．The king was quite hungry when the fisherman came.

5．The king got rid of his Prime Minister because ________ .

[　　]

A．the fisherman was cleverer than his Prime Minister

B．the Prime Minister did not know how to catch fish

C．the Prime Minister was not an honest man

D．the Prime Minister took half of what the king gave the fisherman

GUATEMALA CITY（Reuters）---- A fish that lives in mangrove swamps（红树沼泽）across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted（适应）to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.

   The Mangrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil. When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs（圆木）, said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida .

   The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches. They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again.

   The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize.

   “We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,” Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatemala by telephone. He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.

   In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.

   Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph.

   Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.

   “These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition（过渡）form water onto land, ” Wright said.

49. The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that ________.

   A. likes eating nuts

   B. prefers living in dry places

   C. is the longest living fish on earth

   D. can stay alive for two months out of water

50. Who will write up a report on mangrove Rivulus?

   A. Patricia Wright.

   B. Researchers in Guatemala.

   C. Scientists from Belize.

   D. Scott Taylor.

51. According to the text, lungfish can __________.

   A. breathe through its skin

   B. move freely on dry land

   C. remain alive out of water

   D. be as active on land as in water

52. What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?

   A. It was made quite by accident.

   B. It was based on a lab test of sea life.

   C. It was supported by an American magazine.

   D. It was helped by Patricia Wright.

Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about drinking is the key to critical（判断性的）thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes（过程）. Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.

The word “critical” here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen-beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning.

Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker. If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.

Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world: fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence（智力）, you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein. Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, “Please go slowly. I don’t understand things quickly.”

1.Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically, _______.

A．it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast.

B．we might be controlled by other people’s ideas.

C．we will follow the ideas of others naturally.

D．we might be footed by other people’s ideas.

2.If you are a critical thinker, you will ________.

A．think deeply about different ideas　　 B．trust the reports in the newspapers

C．take one view against another view  　D．criticize other people for their mistakes

3.In the last paragraph, “something new” suggests that ________.

A．the smarter you are, the faster you do things

B．the faster you do things, the smarter you become

C．speed can improve intelligence

D．intelligence is not decided by speed

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Thinking and Critical Thinking.　　 B．Understanding Critical Thinking.

C．Thinking Is Natural and Human.　　D．Thinking Fast Means Intelligence.